OKLAHOMA City Thunder moved two wins away from NBA Western Conference finals after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, 125-107, in Game 2 of their semifinal series on Thursday night (Friday in the Philippines) in Oklahoma City.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each delivered 22 points as Oklahoma City stretched its playoff winning streak to six games and grabbed a commanding 2-0 series advantage.
Ajay Mitchell provided a major boost off the bench with 20 points, Filipino-American Jaren McCain chipped in 18 markers, while Cason Wallace and Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 and 10, respectively, for the defending NBA champions.
Despite Gilgeous-Alexander heading to the bench with foul trouble, the Thunder erased a 64-69 deficit behind Holmgren, Mitchell, and McCain as they took a 93-80 lead entering the final period.
The Lakers trimmed the deficit to five points in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder responded with another surge behind Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren, and Walalce to secure the 18-point victory.
Austin Reaves bounced back from a difficult shooting performance in Game 1 by scoring 31 points on an efficient 10-of-16 shooting clip. LeBron James added 23 markers for the Lakers.
In Detroit, Cade Cunningham had 25 points and 10 assists, Tobias Harris scored 21 points and the Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 107-97, to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference second-round series.
Duncan Robinson chipped in 17 points, making 5 of 9 3-pointers, and Daniss Jenkins came off the bench to score 14 points for the top-seeded Pistons, which have won five straight games since Orlando Magic put them on the brink of elimination in the first round.
Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points and Jarrett Allen had 22 points and seven rebounds, bouncing back from a poor performance in Game 1 for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers.
James Harden, though, missed 10 of 13 shots and was limited to 10 points. Harden had four turnovers, including one with 33 seconds left when the Cavs trailed by just six./PN
